Tuned City Brussels 2013

“Just as noise is what we make of certain sounds. the meanings we assign to noise are no less consequential than the meanings we assign to other sounds. Noise may be unwanted or incomprehensible sound; it is never insignificant sound.” Hillel Schwartz in “Making Noise”, Zone Books 2012

“Obviously we need to be able to rest from sound just as we do from visual stimulation, we need aural as well as visual privacy, but silencing our public environment is the acoustic equivalent of painting it black. Certainly just as our eyes are for seeing, our ears are for hearing.” Max Neuhaus “Sound Design” In Zeitgleich: the Symposium, the Seminar, the Exhibition. Vienna: Triton, 1994.

Brussels proves to be a very dense multi-layered city characterised by abrupt shifts in urban structure, architecture and the social environment. This patchwork provides an urban modality that resists a general grasp of the city while providing room for individualised appropriations. The abundance of juxtapositions in the every-day surroundings create a productive resonance with its passersby in a manner where the city manifests as a vibrant, open-ended, multiplicity. How can one grasp the nature of these relational oscillations and what modes of resonance give shape to the particular Brussels vibe?
Over the course of the four day festival, Tuned City Brussels probes such urban frequencies through concerts, walks, installations and interventions in situ while at the same time focusing the theoretical framework around three core notions: ‘Relational Noise’, ‘Situational Listening’ and ‘Operative Ambience’. A different theme will be explored each day in a corresponding ‘zone’ in the city, towards which the festival relocates.
The project has had a long preparation phase in exchange with locals and organisations (see PRE-EVENTS). Several lectures, artistic presentations, residencies and workshops have been leading up to this four day festival. Particularly important was the collaboration with the art schools Sint Lucas Architectuur, Erasmus Hogeschool RITS/Radio, Sint Lukas Transmedia, a.pass and La Cambre (ENSAV) option Espace Urbain.

The first Tuned City project was realised in Berlin in 2008, with subsequent editions in Tallinn and Nürnberg. For the current edition Q-O2 workspace for experimental music and sound art has invited Tuned City to collaboratively research the context of Brussels.

tuned city brussels is made possible with the support of:
Vlaamse Minister bevoegd voor Brussel
Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie
Goethe-Institut Brussels
Stad Brussel | Ville de Bruxelles
Dienst cultuur van Sint-Gillis | Service de la Culture de Saint-Gilles
Polish Institute | Cultural Service of the Embassy
of the Republic of Poland